MainStreetNewsSports

Apalachee High School’s baseball team will fall a little short of the postseason this spring.

Yet the Diamond Cats were so close to qualifying for the postseason for the first time in program history that coach Mike Cavey is probably asking himself “What if?” quite a bit.
Close losses in games against Heritage, Salem and Flowery Branch will likely keep AHS out of the region’s top four, but Cavey knows the team has battled some tough odds this spring.

“We have had to use some young players in key positions this season,” Cavey said after Friday’s game with Winder-Barrow High School. “We’ve had to make some adjustments this season and it hasn’t always been easy.” [Full Story »] 

The Winder-Barrow High School Lady Bulldogg cross country runners continued their quality start to the 2012 season Saturday by taking first place at the Mountain Invitational in Clarkesville.

WBHS set a course record with 34 team points. Caitlin Connell paced the Lady Bulldoggs by being the second runner to complete the course. The WBHS senior turned in a time of 21:53. Teammate Whitley Kennedy was third overall in 22:57 among 122 female runners.

“The day went really well,” said cross country coach Michael Lofton. “It was an incredibly challenging course. It was constantly up and down and there wasn’t much flat area. The times don’t seem like we ran well, but we did have a strong race.”
The course was designed by former WBHS cross country coach Sam Stovall, who is now coach at North Georgia Technical College.
Anna Dean (7th overall), Kiana Perez (8th overall) and Amber Duffy (15th overall) completed the top five for the Lady Bulldoggs. [Full Story »] 

The Winder-Barrow High School football team seemed well on its way to a possible victory Friday night, but old lady luck seemed to leave the Bulldogg sideline in the fourth quarter.

As a result, WBHS (0-1) fell to host Jackson County 21-10 in the season opener for both teams at Panther Stadium in Jefferson. The loss increases the Bulldoggs’ losing streak to 25 games, dating back to the 2009 season.

WBHS rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit to lead by three points after the third quarter on a 40-yard field goal by Colin Shannon and a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Christian Hodge. [Full Story »] 

The new season will begin a long way from home for the Winder-Barrow High School cross country teams.

The Bulldoggs and Lady Bulldoggs are entered in the Saucony Fleet Feet Cross Country Kickoff Saturday in Savannah. A Coach’s Challenge, which will feature WBHS girls coach Amanda Partee-Manders, begins the day’s event at 7 a.m. followed by the girls race at 8 a.m. with the boys at 8:30 p.m.

“We are ready to run our first meet,” said WBHS boys coach Michael Lofton. “We know there will be a lot of nerves. We ran a trial race to help set up our teams and many runners topped their times from last year.” [Full Story »] 

Travis Demeritte has made it known he will be playing for the top college baseball program in the country.

The rising senior at Winder-Barrow High School announced last week via his Twitter account that he will play for the South Carolina Gamecocks after his career with the Diamond Doggs is complete.

Several other Southeastern Conference schools were also vying for Demeritte’s skills on the diamond. [Full Story »] 

The summer program for the Winder-Barrow High School football team will continue to focus on a variety of things.

The Bulldoggs will continue installing their new offensive and defensive schemes. Head coach David Wagner is moving from a Wing-T offense to more of a triple option attack. Wagner said recently he believes that will help the offense take full advantage of its strengths.

New defensive coordinator Stanley Allen is seeing progress on the other side of the football as well. Allen, who has been with the Bulldogg program since Wagner arrived prior to the 2010 season, is teaching his 4-4 scheme, which he has used for many years at various schools. [Full Story »] 

The Winder-Barrow High School football team concluded spring practice last Wednesday with a controlled scrimmage, although there was plenty of contact on the field.

“Our players got after it,” Bulldogg coach David Wagner said. “It was very physical, especially with our older players.”

Wagner, who is entering his third season at WBHS, compared spring drills to a “crash course” in terms of installing the revamped offense and new defense. The Bulldoggs are moving to a triple option attack as well as a new defensive scheme under coordinator Stanley Allen. [Full Story »] 

Former Winder-Barrow High School varsity boys basketball coach Eli Connell will be the new athletic director for Monroe Area High School beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.

Connell, who compiled a 98-59 record at WBHS, had been an assistant coach at Loganville High School the past two seasons. During his time at WBHS, Connell coached two McDonald’s All Americans. [Full Story »] 

A trio of Winder-Barrow High School track athletes went out in style last Thursday in Jefferson.

Jamonte Riden, Kendall Isler and Quintin Long each earned top 10 finishes in their respective events and helped cap a successful spring for Bulldogg track.

Riden was ninth in the long jump but just made it to the event on time in order to compete. Riden arrived just as the event was starting (he and his teammates got lost trying to get into the stadium) and was moved into the second heat.

Riden then jumped 21-10 to advance to the finals before finishing ninth. The personal best for Riden is 23-5 and that mark would have almost won state as Cedar Shoals’ Jamorio Calhoun took the event with a jump of 23-5.25.

“Competing at state is very different,” Riden said. “I know my stomach has been churning all day. I do my best not to get nervous but this is a big event. It’s something to compete in front of this many people. It’s tough to block it all out.” [Full Story »]